To be clear: worrying about determinsm comes very close to proving the universe is not deterministic. That does not, however, prove one has meaningful free will.
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Replying to @BretWeinstein
That is a misunderstanding. The universe seems reversible, so it is almost certainly deterministic, but that is unrelated to free will. Free will is the ability to act on what one believes to be right (as opposed to act on compulsion). Randomness would destroy intentionality.
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Replying to @Plinz @BretWeinstein
So it follows that if randomness exists at the heart of our biological brain function that free will is not possible (ie I cannot be intentional), correct?
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Replying to @matbalez @BretWeinstein
Our brain is a probabilistic system, which means that it is deterministic with an offset of randomness. By definition, only the deterministic part can be determined by your intentions.
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What determines your intentions?
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Intentions are determined by the regulation architecture that gets entrained into our nervous system by our motivational rewards and the models we form.
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What determines the structure of our regulation architecture? What determines our motivational rewards and models?
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The short answer is: evolution.
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A concrete example might be instructive. I don't want to bias the discussion by suggesting anything, so, if you would, please pick an example of an exercise of your free will. Any example you wish. The stronger case, the better.
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I have not written a letter to my best friend in a long time, and I love her very much, and there are things that I have to say to her, and I don't think that there is anything more important to do, so I write a letter, to be sent in the morning.
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I gain agency and volition to the degree that I acquire awareness over the true causes of my actions. Why do I love my friend? Why do I think she would need that letter? What needs do I actually serve by committing to writing? Etc.
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